The top dash board is a two part plastic cover. It is splitting and cracking in many places. I spoke with a service writer at the dealership and called dodge customer service. No help.
2003 Dodge RAM 1500 body complaints
Page 3 of 9: complaints 41 to 70 of 237, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated that the dashboard was cracked and fractured, which created very sharp edges on the dashboard. The contact indicated that the cracks were located where the air bag was positioned. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who indicated that the damage was caused by excessive sun light. The vehicle was not repaired. Manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.
Dashboard cracked and has continued to crack across the entire length.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated that the dashboard was cracking and deteriorating. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000. Updated 6/8/15*cn the consumer stated the dashboard is made of plastic and is cracking and falling apart. Updated 06/11/12
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact noticed that there were multiple fractures on the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the dashboard needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact noticed that the dashboard fractured. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the dashboard needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that due to the failure, the vehicle was unable to receive the repairs under the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v770000 (air bags). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated that the dashboard fractured and started falling apart. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the dashboard needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.
The dashboard on the passenger side has a crack on the top, just to the left of the glove bos. It started out as only a small crack but is opening up. The entire area feels very soft when cleaning it, so I assume with most of the other comments, its only a matter of time until it completely falls apart. Also why has there been nothing done with the rear fenders on the dodge ram 1500 p.u. The fenders on just about every one I see are rusted out, was told they used a cheaper metal for those fenders. Glad they used junk, bit didn't charge you that way. You would think they would take pride in the vehicles. Both of these are safety issues as, parts break and fly during accidents.
I was doing routine maintenance on my truck and located frame rusted through on left frame rail just in front of rear tire and behind rear door. In no way should this be happening since I purchased it new in 2003 . The truck has been well maintained .
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated that the plastic dashboard cracked and became very brittle. In some areas, the plastic fractured and created sharp edges on the dashboard. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 130,000.
Dash board is severely damaged/cracked in at least 9 or 10 different areas running the length of the dash in some places. In other places the cracks run up and down. The dash is in danger of coming completely off.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 14v354000 (air bags) and 14v770000 (air bags). The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the technician was unable to perform the recall repair due to two fractures on the passenger side dashboard. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 124,062. Updated 4/6/15
Dashboard completely cracked due to defective plastic materials.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated that the dashboard became fractured. The contact had noticed fractured dashboard pieces were falling into the vents. The contact sustained minor injuries to his hands from the shards of the dashboard, but did not require medical attention. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated that the dashboard was fractured. The contact noticed that the fractured dashboard pieces were falling into the vents. The contact sustained minor injuries on his hands that did not require medical attention. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
My dashboard is falling apart, sometimes bits of plastic come out of the vents,im not sure if this can damage electrical components ,but my HVAC is already acting up ,I've called dodge and they say its cosmetic , but if iget hit with plastic wile im driving it could be interesting to say the least.
While driving I had the dashboard crack in two spots. First crack is located in front of passenger seat above air bag, the second crack is located on the dash, in front of the drivers seat at around the 12:00 position of the wheel.
The dashboard is falling apart in this truck. Have done online research and in dodge ram trucks this is a common problem. Have read where whole electrical systems have failed due to these dashboards cracking and falling apart and on occasion while driving these trucks. These trucks should definitely be recalled to fix this problem before someone is seriously injured.
The dash board has finally fallen apart after years of trying to keep it together. The obd connection has never worked fuse is good and several different scanners but no communication.
The dash board is cracking bad. I am scared to ride anyone in the passenger side because it cracking worst around the dash by the airbag. Dodge needs a recall on this matter. They used cheap parts in this truck dash board.
I bought this truck used and expected some components of the truck to be worn.the dashboard has several cracks in it when I bought it and have continued to crack even more. This does not appear to be age related but a serious manufacturing defect. I'm worried about pieces flying off and hitting me in the face as broken parts have already done but only landed at my feet.it's like driving with broken glass on your dashboard. I would hate for the passenger airbag to go off and be stabbed by pieces of flying dashboard. I've noticed that n.h.t.s.a. Has received more complaints about this component than any other on this truck. Why hasn't a recall been issued? This is a serious safety issue. Let's not make this another recall debacle. Chrysler needs to take responsibility for this defect. No dashboards crack like this with age.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated that his dashboard was severely cracked in multiple places. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified of the defect. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 65,000. The current mileage was 97,000.
Dash is cracking and falling apart.
During the first year we bought the truck it had to be towed in to the shop because it would lose power and just "turn off" and could not be started about 6 times. After the truck was returned to us after one of these episodes, we had hooked up our camper to leave for the weekend, went into the house for some more stuff, and noticed that the gas tank had fallen off the truck and was sitting in the driveway under the truck. So much for camping that weekend and another tow to the dealer. We also purchased an extended "bumper-to-bumper 100,000 mile, 5 year warranty that covered rust. I brought the truck into the dealer to show them the rust around the rear wheel wells and lower body in the 4th year into the warranty and they said they made a record of it and would take care of it. They put if off with promises after numerous calls and trips to the dealer until the dealership sold to another party and the warranty had expired (years, not miles). The body is rotten, the passenger front window was never fixed, and it still occasionally stalls. I'm told that the stalling and body problems are engineering defects, and internet searches confirm this.
Truck has excessive rust over both rear fenders. Had it looked at by a couple of body shoppes and estimate to have it fixed will cost about $5,500. Rust is coming from underneath about wheel and rusting from under surface to exterior on fender. 90% of other dodge ram trucks with the same body style as my 2003 ram all have surface rust where the paint looks bubbled. This should have been a recall with chrysler.
The dash is just about ready to fall out, cracked in half,pass side defrost grid is gone,very poor material.
While driving down state highway I lowered the front windows and a piece of the dashboard (that is cracked in several places) broke off, flew around in front of me, and then hit me in the left eye causing me to completely loose site of the road and the other vehicles around me all while doing 60 miles per hour on a 4 lane road.
Dashboard directly above the front passenger side airbag has completely cracked creating a significant gap. This has caused my wife to inadvertently get her finger caught in it and be cut and injured. Additionally the location and severity of the crack has significantly weakened the dashboard and compromised it's structural integrity. This problem will only get worse and expand. Should the vehicle be involved in a collision which causes the airbag to deploy it will most certainly pose a great risk to all occupants as the dashboard is likely to fragment at high velocity, sending sharp shards of plastic throughout the passenger compartment. Additionally, this may cause the airbag to be punctured upon deployment and fail to operate as designed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, the front passenger's side door released independently. The failure recurred four times. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The technician was not able to provide a remedy to correct the problem. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 300. The VIN was unavailable. Updated 3/28/14*cn
The rear seat in the 2003 dodge ram quad cab does not have head restraints. I'm concerned that in an accident my children that sit back there can be injured. The back glass is right behind the seat and their heads world hit the glass causing brain damage, spinal cord injuries and possibly death. I've called dodge and they were not helpful. The 2004 models have rear head restraints.
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